3 Best Sights in Brasilia and the West, Brazil

To view the best sunset in town, head to the Ermida Dom Bosco, in a peaceful setting by the southern shores of Lake Paranoá. There's a small shrine to Dom Bosco, but most people come here to walk, run, swim in the lake, or just watch the sunset with friends.

In 1972 satellite images proved that the continent's true center was not in Cuiabá, where there is an obelisk commemorating the spot, but at Mirante do Centro Geodésico on the mesa's edge. If the geodesic center doesn't hold spiritual meaning for you, come for the fantastic view—on a clear day you can see as far as the Pantanal.

You'll have a 360-degree view of the city from the Salão Panorâmico (Observation Deck) of this TV tower, which stands over 700-feet high and was designed by Lúcio Costa with the Eiffel Tower as a model. At night the view of the Congress building is spectacular.